Dr. Meenakshi Natarajan - Family Physician

12/08/2025

It’s official! I am now reviewing articles for the Canadian Family Physician Journal

En raison de l'interruption de service chez Postes Canada, nous prévoyons un impact sur la livraison des versions imprimées du Médecin de famille canadien.

12/01/2025

bought these super cute felt Christmas tree and ornaments to put up on the wall of the clinic. The ornaments are also felt and held by Velcro so kids can decorate and redecorate! Yes. I finished the tree tonight hence the look of pride on my face!! And they are easy to put in my
Luggage for Christmas gifts for the northern clinics I go to… now I just need reliable reindeer transport!!

12/01/2025

Some of rooms were freezing, so i removed the screens, found ice blocking the window panels from closing fully. So I found the largest object I could use. Mixed up water and 70% alcohol hand sanitizer to help melt some of the ice and smash the rest of it with the largest heaviest object I could find. 🦾😅

11/27/2025

There a pretty bad storm raging through northern Ontario right now. Stayed in Timmins last night as I normally
Do and made it to Moosonee just now but the last few km will be the most challenging. It is the shoulder season and the river is wet and slushy so no boats and no ice road. This means helicoptering….the most finicky and weather dependent aircraft

Very fitting that the little airport here has the Flying Ace himself Snoopy here!

Some of the more challenging issues of flying north. 1. Even if your plane goes north… the landing community may not have de icing equipment to safely take off again… thus grounding a crew and aircraft

2. If the aircraft is stranded in such a community…there are minimal hotels or lodges in these places. Moosonee has a hotel but imagine some of the indigenous communities I fly to, there is really nothing. Those of us who work in these areas, and remote, rural, and resource scare areas tend to think in multiple step contingencies…

And again, as always imagine if this is a patient that is being transported. A medical student was so surprised when I asked her to consider the weight of a few days dialysis fluid… as cargo weight when arranging transport.

The things you never consider and realize how grateful you are for systems and contingencies that are in place.

Off to find some warmth!

I’m sticking close to the flying Ace Snoopy!!

11/19/2025

I say. Start them young! This young orthopaedic surgeon has mastered the art of checking for reflexes and tone with the most expensive reflex hammer one can use.

To be fair he did attempt to auscultate his belly earlier with better technique

And as you can hear.. mother has given me
Permission to post for a lead in to another little write up

11/07/2025

You know it’s pretty accurate. Trying to smile… a little nervous the patient will code

10/27/2025

This was last week. I just left moose factory but the yarn was a hit. The elder in question did not like doing her carpal tunnel exercises … but loves crochet…. Great exercise for her sore tired old hands… full of wisdom and work through the ages

10/26/2025

Learning in collingwood

08/30/2025

08/30/2025

A lovely way to spend an afternoon. The iconic McMichael Art Gallery (Stuart i finally made it!)
Below are just a few pics from the gallery and some video still to post. When you spend time in a place like this you see the world around you with more clarity becuase art is honest. The canvas is an expression and a reflection of the surroundings and the narrative from the artists perspective.

From a humanities perspective art (music, sculpture, dance, pick any form) is important, essential and exists on its own merit. From a medical humanities perspective the arts teaches us some critical lessons.

Show a grouping artists the same scenery and the resulting work with have some similar elements but wildly different interpretations. In medicine … one conditions presents and is expressed very differently by each patient. But the “art” of diagnosis is nowhere in that while listening to the wildly different experiences of each patient…the physician needs to arrive at the unifying and underlying diagnosis.
Maybe it’s working in the opposite direction. So we arrive at one treatment, one surgery. But how does that work with your patient.. can they afford it, can they tolerate it, does it fit their world view, or is it even their priority?

Seeing the natural world as an artist, or in my case seeing the patient as diverse expression is truly where the art of medicine intersects the science and rigour of the discipline. And in our hurried world where we are expected to do more, see more patients… the one gift I do not have is time.

I think the humanities gives us that opportunity to reflect so that when we do have the rare gift of time, we can act and heal in a way that is meaningful and successful.
Sorry for the long post but I always carry a little journal to write. I hope these are lessons for me and for my students and patients.

08/28/2025

With permission from the family to post on social media, and the photo was taken by the grandmother or “Kokum”. And we ensured we did not see baby’s face.

This child is in a “Tikinagan” an indigenous baby carrier. Baby is securely held in lots of padding which traditionally would have been fur and hides and I believe there is moose hide here as well. It is very snug and warm and has a head board so that the skull is protected.

What a fascinating study in culture as we see how people navigate the unique regional/climate specific needs in providing care. And then, to see the cultural expression in the art and design of the piece.

More tales from my travels
I still need a clever hashtag or name for my travels and stories. Challenging you all to come up with some clever names for me!